The St. Louis Cardinals started a center fielder who wasn't allowed to throw

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Randal Grichuk is having a great rookie season, hitting .281 with 16 home runs. After a recent stint on the disabled list with a right elbow strain Cards manager Mike Matheny is easing the rookie back into the lineup. For now, that means no long throws, which is obviously an issue for an outfielder.

The Redbirds had an interesting workaround for the problem on Wednesday against the Chicago Cubs. After Anthony Rizzo doubled, Grichuk scooped up the ball and tossed it to right fielder Jason Heyward to relay into the infield. The extra time allowed a runner to score from first.

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That's obviously not a long-term solution, but the risk was worth it for Matheny to get Grichuk's bat into the lineup. He told the Post-Dispatch: "We're trying to find ways to help our offense and you've got to live with them."

It ended up working out for the Cards as they beat their division rival 4-3, extending their division lead to 4.5 games.